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Boris Flyover to cost more than Mayor’s annual bike spend

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On your bike: London Mayor Boris Johnson wants to spend more on an urban motorway to help his developer mates in Croydon than he is spending on cycle schemes across London this year

On your bike: Boris Johnson wants to spend more on an urban motorway in Croydon than he is spending on cycle schemes across London this year

Mayor of London Boris Johnson wants to spend more on building a four-/five-/six-lane flyover through a Waddon park than his entire annual spend on cycling in the city for 2014-2015.

That’s the conclusion of Darren Johnson, the Green Party Assembly Member, based on official figures he has obtained which show that the supposedly “bike-friendly” London Mayor is spending £82million on cycling in the city this year.

The controversial Boris Flyover scheme, for the A232 from the Purley Way towards central London, could cost at least £87million.

In 2003, the entire borough of Croydon was designated an Air Quality Management Area due to serious concerns about air pollution in the borough. Emissions from vehicles are one biggest contributors to Croydon’s polluted air.

Yet now, with enthusiastic support from cabinet member Kathy Bee, Croydon’s Labour-run council is backing the Tory Mayor’s scheme to build another urban motorway through a residential area, ostensibly to allow Surrey shoppers to drive their 4x4s more easily into the £1 billion Hammersfield supermall in the town centre.

The A232 route into Croydon runs very close to St Andrew’s High School and the Parish Church infants and primary schools, but at the recent Transport for London consultation had no data on environmental assessment for the proposals, something which Darren Johnson has been strongly critical in his formal submission to the Transport for London “consultation”, which was recently concluded.

Kathy Bee: enthusiastically supported the flyover through Waddon

“It is outrageous that the Mayor is considering concreting over another bit of Croydon to encourage more and more vehicles to flood in on new roads and condemn the people of Croydon to even filthier air,” Darren Johnson said.

“Croydon has such great potential but constructing a huge flyover linking Duppas Hill Road with the A232 as suggested in the plans is the last thing the town needs. It will be a huge eyesore hated by the people who will have to live in its shadow.

“The fact that the Mayor wants to spend more on this single construction scheme than this year’s entire cycling budget for London shows how backwards his thinking is. Outer London town centres like Croydon need safe, segregated cycle lanes, a better public realm for pedestrians, comprehensive public transport links and green spaces for people to enjoy.

“This scheme offers none of these and I have urged the Mayor to ditch these plans immediately.”


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